Akabeko

Akabeko (赤べこ) is a traditional toy from the Aizu region in Fukushima Prefecture. The toy is made from two pieces of papier-mâché-covered wood, shaped and painted to look like a red cow or ox. One piece represents the cow’s head and neck and the other its body. The head and neck hang from a string and fits into the hollow body. When you move the cow, the head wiggles side to side which is very cute!

“Aizu legend claims that the toys are based on a real cow that lived in the 9th century and showed its devotion to Buddha by willing its soul away or by refusing to leave the site of a temple it had helped to construct. The earliest Akabeko toys were created in the late 16th or early 17th century. Over time, people came to believe that the toys could ward off smallpox and other illnesses. Akabeko has become one of Fukushima Prefecture’s most famous crafts and a symbol of the Aizu

According to local folklore, in the year 807 A.D., cows were used to haul materials to construct Enzoji temple 圓蔵寺 in Yanaizu 柳津. When the temple was completed, one particular red cow refused to leave the site. Legend has it that the cow even turned to stone after having given its soul to the Buddha. The townspeople, duly impressed with the cow's loyalty and no doubt its ability to turn itself to stone, made small effigies of the cow, painted them red, and gave them to children as toys. Years later, when a bout of smallpox swept the country, the children who had these akabeko toys didn't get smallpox.

This whimsical lacquered red papier-mache figure of an ox is known as an “aka-beko” which, literally translated, means red calf or red cow. The head, which is attached by a string, nods up and down and from side to side.

Some 350 years ago, the townspeople constructed a large temple there dedicated to Buddha.

Heavy loads of lumber had to be transported long distances, and one of the oxen used was a large reddish cow. When the building was completed, she refused to leave the site. Shortly thereafter a member of the ruling clan fashioned a small effigy of the devout cow as a child’s toy. Made of lacquered papier-mache, the free swinging head bobs easily with any movement and delights children of all ages. When a great plague of smallpox swept the country, people appealed to Buddha for deliverance.

It was noticed that children who had this toy were not afflicted with the dread disease, and the superstitious local populace began to make similar toys as amulets against illness.
Aka-beko are looked upon as omens of good luck and prosperity and are given as gifts at New Year’s and other auspicious occasions.